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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wow. This is the end. We've drabbled all the way to the end of April. I'd like to thank all of you who went along with me on this journey. It's been amazing for me. I'm lucky to be part of such a great blogging community.

Zoo

The bars of my cage are rusted and dirty. No one has cleaned them for years.

The surrounding cages are silent too. They’re not empty, but those that occupy them
are motionless. I can’t recall the last
time I saw one of them stir.

Life in the zoo was never easy. Androids were outlawed when a Luddite faction
took control of the government. We were
placed in zoos as a warning of the dangers of technology. Children would come to taunt us.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

This drabble was inspired by my philosophical friends and our propensity for saying random things. Seriously, most sane people would go mad trying to follow our conversations.

Enjoy!

Yellow

“Yellow is the color of life and death,” Josh said.

Ellen looked up from her eggs. “What do you mean?” It was too early in the morning for her
decaffeinated brain to decode his meaning.

“Look at your eggs.
The yolk is yellow. It’s meant to
nourish new life, but your consumption of it is a kind of death. The sun is yellow. It gives life. Yet the yellowed pages of a book are evidence
of decay.”

“Yellow is also the color of the healing bruise you’ll have
in a couple of days if you don’t stop rambling,” Ellen warned.

Monday, April 28, 2014

There are only so many words that start with X. Xenophobia immediately jumped to mind, but I've written about that topic before. Then I thought about the flip side. I'm a science fiction geek, so I've always had a thing for cool aliens.

So here's my geeky tribute to those who have taken a page from Captain Kirk's book and are open to the possibilities. Enjoy!

“You hear about people being xenophobic. Well, I’m xenophilic,” Darlene said as she kicked at the dirt. “I watched
nothing but Star Trek as a kid, so
that may be the reason for it. You
should know that if we’re going to date.”

Miles stared blankly at her for a moment. “Would I have to do anything weird?”

She produced a set of pointy prosthetics from her coat
pocket. Spock ears. “Wear these on our first date. And no red shirts.”

After a moment of thought, he shrugged.“I can live with that.So you’ll really go out with me?”

Friday, April 25, 2014

The A to Z Challenge is coming close to its conclusion, and it's inspiring to see so many bloggers maintaining their enthusiasm up until the end. I'm still having a great time with it. It makes me feel great when people leave me positive comments about my drabbles. You guys are amazing!

I got quite a bit of work done on my WIP this week, and I'm excited about that. I figured I'd accomplish almost nothing on it this month, but that has turned out not to be the case. I'm not working at my top pace, but I'm making progress. Woohoo!

I made chocolate chip muffins from scratch, and they turned out great! My husband and my kids all loved them. Now I'm trying to think of what other kinds of muffins I can try to make next.

Sure, we all like to look good, even if it's only once in awhile. It can lift your spirits, and give you that boost of confidence we all need. However, when looks become everything, it can be devastating. Too many young people have had their lives devastated by the drive to achieve a level of physical perfection that simply isn't attainable without an airbrush or surgery.

There's more to life than physical beauty.

Vanity

A cluttered desk: facial creams, moisturizers of every scent
a person could dream of, cosmetics designed to attend to any beauty related
problem imaginable.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

This is the one I probably had the most fun writing. I love word play, and when I chose the word 'ubiquitous' as my inspiration, this story sprung naturally from it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, though I honestly don't know if that's possible.

Ubiquitous

“What’s the next word?” Bobby asked.

Marcus glanced down at the paper. “Ubiquitous.”

Bobby wrinkled his nose.
“Is it just me, or does that word sound a bit pretentious?”

This earned him a raised eyebrow. “I think the word ‘pretentious’ sounds just
as pretentious as ‘ubiquitous’. Besides,
words themselves aren’t pretentious.
Just the people using them.”

With a shrug, Bobby conceded the point. “I guess it’s to be expected. We’re practicing for a spelling bee. Words that make us sound pretentious are
bound to be ubiquitous.”

Now Marcus smiled.“You
clearly know what ‘ubiquitous’ means, but can you spell it?”

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

I came across the word "thaumaturgy" online, and within five minutes, this little drabble was born. I had a great time writing this one, though it was so difficult limiting it to 100 words. My hands kept wanting to write more!

Thaumaturgy

Craigslist ads attract all kinds.

Stacy was searching for someone to fix her computer. A man called a couple hours later, offering
to do the job.

When she opened the door to let him in, she was startled by
the long purple robe he wore. Great.
I got a weird one, she thought.

“Are you qualified to fix computers?” she asked hesitantly.

“I am a thaumaturgist,” he replied calmly.

“A what?”

“Thaumaturgy is the ability to perform magic.”

Her eyebrow arched quizzically. “You’re a magician? Why didn’t you say that instead?”

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

As a writer, I know how the writing spell can come over you. That's when the magic happens. I imagine it's similar for an artist, or any other creative type who's in the groove, so to speak. That idea is what inspired the following drabble.

Sketch

Stella’s hand ghosted over the blank sheet, leaving faint
lines of graphite in its wake. She
savored the curves and planes as they flowed from her fingers. Her heart poured onto the paper as she
worked, attempting the nearly impossible goal of capturing a moment . . .

“Justin, stop twitching!” Stella cried. The sudden movement from her model spoiled
the artistic trance she’d been enjoying.
Now there was a nasty smudge on her masterpiece.

“I had an itch!” he retorted.“I’m human!If you’re not going to allow me to have human shortcomings, I’m not
going to let you sketch me anymore.”

Monday, April 21, 2014

Here's another science fiction drabble. Wow. I've been noticing a bit of a theme the last few days. Oh well. Science fiction has been such a large part of my life that this hardly comes as a surprise.

Enjoy!

Rain

The cracked red dirt sent up puffs of dust around Delphine’s
feet. Dark clouds were gathering on the
horizon. She shuddered. Much as she longed for some water to cool her
heated skin, the rain waiting to be unleashed from those clouds would be
anything but refreshing.

It hasn’t rained for
months, Delphine thought
bitterly. It figures that it would happen now when I’m nowhere near shelter.

Resigning herself to the fact that she couldn’t avoid it,
she continued to walk. When the droplets
began falling from the sky, they cut right through her, stripping the flesh
from her bones.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

This drabble was inspired by my undying love for science fiction. This is a near future scenario, and the theme is not a new one. I'm not breaking the mold with this piece. I'm simply taking a peak at the lives of two people.

Qualifying

“Do you think it’ll work out this time?” Mark asked, his
fingers clenching the steering wheel.

Martha shrugged, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t
terrified.

Qualifying wasn’t easy.
The standards were strict. Out of
a batch of ten embryos, there was no guarantee they’d have one deemed
acceptable. They’d walked away
disappointed three times already.

Embryos had to have a potential IQ of 125, and no genetic
defects. That meant perfect eyesight, no
mental illness, no risk factors for cancer.
And even if one embryo met the criteria, aptitudes were taken into
account.

Friday, April 18, 2014

This has been another fun week, thanks in part to the April A to Z Challenge. It's great connecting to bloggers that I hadn't previously had the opportunity to meet.

I'm also excited because, thanks to the lovely Krista McLaughlin and her BREATHLESS Release Party giveaway, I won an e-copy of the complete "13th Floor" series by Christine Rains. So thank you Krista, and of course, thank you to Christine as well! Winning awesome prizes like this always helps make your week extra special.

I'm also celebrating that I've gotten some work on my WIP done. Not a lot, but some. In the midst of A to Z, getting anything done on it seems like a major accomplishment.

This is another drabble that turned into a poem instead. Once again, it's still exactly 100 words. It just came out as a poem. I can't always control what results from my creative madness.

The inspiration for this came from frustration. I've seen so many people who are judged harshly for their past, often unjustly, and the results can be devastating for some. We are none of us perfect. The experiences we have had may not win the approval of all, but for better or worse, they've made us who we are.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

The inspiration for the following drabble clearly comes from the fact that my brain has been saturated with science fiction. I am in no way claiming this is a bad thing. It's a simple fact of life.

I hope you like it!

Original

The world places value on originality, all the while
peddling knock-off clothing and accessories so people can all look the
same. It’s laughable just how deluded
people can be.

People say originals are precious because they can never be replaced. Original paint jobs, original parts,
untarnished by time.

Of course, people try to replace the irreplaceable.That’s why I exist.A clone, a replication of a once-living
original.I came with a blank slate,
though family members pretend not to notice.They’d much rather embrace the delusion and ignore the fact that I’m not
even the original me.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Newcomers are treated with a mixture of curiosity and
suspicion. I know this from my childhood. Being an army brat, I was
always the new kid in school.

Now, as a diplomat, I get to experience it again on a whole
new level. First contact with an alien
species. I’ve been living on a starship
for the last three years just in case we encountered anyone. I’d almost given up on the possibility of it
happening.

It’s even more intimidating that we’re meeting on their home
world.I stroll into the room, the lone
human.I am the alien here.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Here's another drabble. I wanted to capture some of the excitement of young love and the anticipation that comes along with it. Enjoy!

Midnight

Miles was shocked by the note in his locker.

Meet me at midnight under
the oak tree in the park and say you’ll be mine.

The note wasn’t signed.
As he navigated the halls between classes, he observed everyone, hoping to
catch a fleeting glance, searching for any clue as to who his admirer was.

Hours later, after his parents had gone to bed, Miles
slipped out of the house and headed to the park. The cool evening air couldn’t chill his
heated skin. His heart pounded in his
ears as he spotted the silhouette leaning against the tree trunk.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

For this drabble, I drew upon my own terrifying memories of dodgeball. Man oh man, that game never ended well for me. Neither did red rover.

Though funnily enough, the worst P.E. injury I ever sustained was while we were playing frisbee. I had braces at the time, and getting hit in the cheek meant I had to spend the next several minutes prying the inside of my cheek off of the sharp metal. There was plenty of blood and frustration to be had that day, let me tell you!

Anyway, on to the story!

Knockout

Sweat dripped into my eyes, but I couldn’t sweep it
away. If I took my eyes off the ball, it
would’ve all been over.

Then disaster stuck.
Or kind fortune. I can’t decide
which.

I detected movement from the corner of my eye. On the sidelines, Phoebe Wexler had bent over
to tie her shoe, affording me a perfect view down her shirt. I froze, distracted by the heavenly sight.

SMACK!

When I opened my eyes, Phoebe hovered over me. “You were knocked out. Are you going to be okay?”

The weather here is getting better and better. I got to go outside with the kids, and we worked on learning to ride bikes. The kids also drew some wonderful pictures with sidewalk chalk.

I'm still having lots of fun with the A to Z Challenge. It's hard to believe that the month is 1/3 of the way over already.

As I write this, I am drinking a wonderful cup of tea, which is always nice. There is also chocolate in the house, which makes everything seem brighter.

Jude had a great 5th birthday. He ate chocolate cake when we went to my dad's house, and he'll be getting even more chocolate cake this weekend when we celebrate again with my in-laws. Lyle is now eagerly looking forward to his birthday, which is exactly one month from today. These kids are growing up so fast!

For this little drabble, I felt like doing something silly. That's why I chose the word "juvenile" in the first place. I hope you like it!

Juvenile

“Why do you have to act like such a juvenile all the time?”
Carrie demanded, her voice rising an octave between the start and finish of her
raucous protest.

Chris calmly stood his ground, hands shoved in his pockets,
as he studied the results of his brilliant prank. Teenage girls covered in pinks, reds, blues,
and greens surrounded him, all wearing identical looks of fury.

“Hey, you couldn’t decide whether you wanted to make tie-dye
shirts or have a water balloon fight.
Thanks to me, you got both.”

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

I was inspired to write this drabble after watching a horror film that didn't scare me. Horror is often a relative thing. That which terrifies one may not even phase another. Then again, there are certainly real-life experiences that would horrify most.

Horror

What defines the horror
genre?

Dana stared at the question for several long moments. Of course she knew what the professor
expected her to write. She’d been to
class, taken notes, and studied. Yet she
couldn’t regurgitate the answer she’d memorized.

You don’t know what horror
is, she thought
bitterly. Horror is waking up every day feeling like you were born into the wrong
body. Horror is feeling as if you’ll
never fit in, and fearing every day that your family will finally see through
the veneer and be repulsed by who you really are.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

When I sat down to write this drabble, I knew I wanted to use the word "grave" for inspiration, but I didn't want it to be a typical story about someone visiting a grave. I hope I pulled that off.

Grave

The gravesite was nicely manicured. Visitors tended to feel comforted by
well-tended cemeteries.

Stan shoved his hands into his coat pockets, his eyes wandering
over the headstones surrounding him.

“Is it weird that I’m here?” he wondered aloud, knowing that
no one else was there to hear him.“I
told my best friend about this, and he laughed.”He knelt down in front of the headstone,
tracing the name with his fingers.His
name.“What can I say?I’m going to be buried here someday.I want to know what it’ll be like for my
family to visit me.”

Monday, April 7, 2014

This place is a wasteland.
It’s the type of environment that makes your brain shut down just to get
you through the day.

There are worse places, of course. I have food.
Shelter. Money. My physical needs are met thanks to this soul
crushing machine that I call a job.

The desk reeks of disinfectant. The computer screen glares harshly back at
me. My chair wobbles, keeping me off
balance. The data I have to input into
the system is utterly unremarkable. All
the figures look the same.

There is a famine of ideas.Of inspiration.I desperately
crave imagination.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

The blobby green creature rolls slowly around the perimeter
of the plexiglass enclosure. “The entity
seems to be exploring its environment.”
Daphne speaks into the recorder excitedly. At age 14, she strives to act like a real scientist.

Her little brother Daniel watches from the edge of the bed. “Shouldn’t we let someone know about this?”

Daphne shakes her head.
“No. If the government gets their
hands on it, who knows what they’ll do?
Everything will be better if we keep this to ourselves.”

He nods.He’d seen
enough movies to know she was probably right.“Can we name it?”

Friday, April 4, 2014

First of all, if you're hear to check out my D post for the A-Z Challenge, you can find that HERE.

It's Friday! Let's take a moment to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit!

I didn't post last Friday. It wasn't because I didn't have anything to celebrate. I actually had quite a few little things worth mentioning. It was simply a busy weekend, and I was also trying to prepare myself for the rigors of the A to Z Challenge by lying low for a few days.

Last week I would have celebrated the fact that on Thursday last week, my kids lost my glasses. Okay, that isn't the celebration-worthy bit. I was upset, but my prizes from Alex J. Cavanaugh's 2000 Follower giveaway arrived that afternoon, and that brightened what would otherwise have been a miserable day. And then later that night, I found my glasses buried deep inside one of our couches. They were dirty, but intact!

Anyway, this past weekend, busy as it was, is certainly worth mentioning for this week. My husband got his annual bonus from work, so we got to splurge a little. We bought our kids new bikes, which they needed anyway. Jude had outgrown his, and we wanted to get Lyle a new bike for his birthday (which is over a month from now, but that's beside the point). We gave Jude's old bike to our nephew, so it'll be in good hands.

We also bought Jude a telescope. His birthday is on the 6th of this month, which is only a couple days from now. He was adamant about getting a telescope, so we found him a small one. It isn't high quality or anything, but he loves it. And of course, since we were telescope shopping, I had to get myself a telescope. Mine's a bit bigger than his, and I'm enjoying it so far. I intend to use it, both for Mars when it reaches opposition on the 8th, and for the upcoming lunar eclipse on the 15th. That is, as long as the sky isn't cloudy. I always have to be prepared for that possibility.

I just made a batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, and they turned out really good. I'm excited about that. It's nice to know that my baking skills are somewhat decent.

Since Jude's birthday is on Sunday, we also have birthday cake to look forward to.

“You owe me a debt,” Lana said with a smirk, her arms
crossed in front of her chest. “I don’t
chase away bullies for free.”

Elliot made a futile attempt to straighten his damaged
glasses, more to make it look like he wasn’t staring at her. Lana’s knee-high black leather boots made her
look like a warrior goddess. Bullies had
always been a reality for him, and he couldn’t figure out why someone like her
would help him.

“What do you want?” he asked hesitantly.

The smirk turned to a smile.“Just a kiss, because I think you’re cute.”

The question for this week is: Do you have a song or songs that you belt out in the car, shower, etc.?

Well, I've never been one to sing in the shower, mostly because my voice sounds ten times louder, and I have a singing voice that could bring down entire armies, leaving them covering their ears and begging for the end. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not by much.

If I'm alone in the car, however, there are certain songs I have to sing along to if I hear them on the radio. If I'm home alone, I might also sing along to them on my stereo. Some of them may be somewhat embarrassing or strange, but I'll share them anyway.

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers

"Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra

"Inside Out" by Eve 6

"Bitch" by Meredith Brooks

"Come Sail Away" by Styx

"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian

Why can't I stop myself from singing when I hear these songs? I have no idea. I love plenty of songs that don't have that effect on me, but these do.